2016 Rocky Mountain Synod Pre-Assembly Information Packet APRIL 28-30, 2016 EMBASSY SUITES LOVELAND, COLORADO. rmselca.

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1 2016 Rocky Mountain Synod Pre-Assembly Information Packet APRIL 28-30, 2016 EMBASSY SUITES LOVELAND, COLORADO rmselca.org/assembly

2 Many Voices, One Song! Dear Friends in Christ, Many Voices, One Song is the theme for this year s Assembly. Synod Assemblies offer all of us an opportunity to discover and celebrate the breadth of what we are able to do together as the Rocky Mountain Synod. In this year s gathering we will connect the dots on all of our ministries to discover how our individual voices are joined together to sing one wondrous song about God s love loosed in the world through Jesus. Voting members and guests will be given an opportunity to plunge into one of these ministries in depth, and together we will celebrate how all the melodic lines are woven together in our witness to a world which needs to hear this song deeply. Dr. Shauna Hannon, faculty member from Pacific Lutheran School of Theology in Berkeley, California and rostered leader in our Rocky Mountain Synod will be with us, guiding our theological reflection on what these connections mean for us and for the world. As we look to gather our many voices together this spring, we encourage congregations to seek out new voting members, so that we may fully experience the richness of the many, diverse voices in our Rocky Mountain Synod. In addition opportunities will be provided especially for youth voting members to connect with other youth while still fully participating in the assembly, including a post-worship party on the first night of the assembly. Stay tuned for more information regarding opportunities for your youth voting members! Come to Loveland and be part of the music! Bishop Jim Gonia Video Project: Oh Sing To The Lord! Many Voices, One Song Literally! We will be inviting our congregations and ministries to submit a video of members of your community singing/playing the hymn Oh Sing to the Lord. Sections of each submission will be edited together to create a compiled video of the entire hymn. More information about how to submit your clip will be posted on the website in January. Be thinking already now about how your congregation can creatively submit a section of the hymn!

3 Assembly Location & Travel Information Location Embassy Suites Clydesdale Pkwy, Loveland, CO For 2016, we will return to the location of our 2013 Assembly. The Embassy Suites is located conveniently along I-25. For those coming by car, free parking is available. For those traveling by plane, either rent a car, or take advantage of various shuttle services available: Date and Time The assembly will begin around 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 and conclude by noon on Saturday, April 30. We will return this year to the Thursday-Saturday format, to allow congregations to worship together on Sunday. Assembly Registration Fee, which includes program costs, materials, three meals, and breaks. The Registration Fee does not include the hotel. Voting Member: $300 Visitor with Meals: $250 Visitor without Meals: $125 Exhibitor with Meals: $175 Exhibitor without Meals: $50 You will make your own hotel reservation at the Embassy Suites. Information and links will be posted at Single: $119 Double: $129 Triple: $139 Quad: $149 All rooms are 2 room suites. The room rate includes breakfast and an evening reception. Hotel Reservation deadline is April 6 To guarantee our group rate, you must reserve your hotel by April 1. After this date, rooms may still be available, but we cannot guarantee the group rate Scholarships and Travel Assistance We are Church: Better Together! Which means we are not complete unless all are gathered around the table. Scholarships are available to those who need financial assistance. To request assistance, Cheryl Almquist: cheryl_almquist@rmselca.org Travel Equalization forms will be available at the assembly providing assistance to those more than 150 miles away (300 miles round trip) Acting as the Church Together, there will be an option at registration to donate a small amount to Assembly Scholarships if your congregation is able.

4 Important Deadlines Registration deadline is Friday, March 18 Registration will be available online in early February. The on-line request form for exhibitors will also be available at that time. Nomination deadline is Friday, March 18 The nomination form and information about open elected positions will be available mid- January. Resolutions and Memorials deadline is Friday, March 18 Information about resolutions and memorials will be posted by January 15, including a form for submitting them. Ministry Booklet and Display Requests are due Friday, March 18 The on-line request form for exhibitors and ministry booklet pages will be available early February. The deadline for submitting requests will be March 18. Hotel Reservation deadline is April 6 Voting Member Information The voting members of the assembly are determined as follows: A. Congregations are allowed 2 lay voting members, 1 male and 1 female. If a congregation is not able to find both a male and female, contact Janice Ladd-Horkey at the Office of the Bishop for permission to send 2 of the same gender: jladd-horkey@rmselca.org. B. In addition, based upon baptized membership records for the previous year (1) Congregations having membership of 650 to 1,199 baptized members shall be allowed one additional lay voting member (male or female). (2) Congregations having membership of 1,200 or more baptized members shall be allowed two additional lay voting members (one male and one female). C. In the selection of voting members, congregations are urged to be aware of the matter of inclusiveness of persons of color and/or persons whose primary language is other than English. D. All ordained ministers under call or on leave from call on the roster of the Rocky Mountain Synod are voting members. G. All retired ordained ministers on the roster of this synod who are currently serving as interim pastors and all ordained ministers on leave from call on the roster of this synod who are currently serving as interim pastors and who are in attendance at the assembly are voting members.

5 H. All associates in ministry, deaconesses of the ELCA, and diaconal ministers, under call or on leave from call, of the official lay rosters of this synod shall be voting members. I. Youth/Young Adult Voting Members It is the goal of this synod that at least 10% of the voting members of the Synod Assembly, Synod Council, committees, and organizational units of this synod be youth and young adults. For purposes of the constitution, bylaws, and continuing resolutions of this synod, the term youth means a voting member of a congregation who has not reached the age of 18 at the time of election or appointment for service. The term young adult means a voting member of a congregation between the ages of 18 and 30 at the time of election or appointment for service. Information to assist you and your congregation in inviting, selecting and supporting your youth and young adult voting members for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly: A youth or young adult attending the Assembly, as a voting member from your congregation, will sit with the members of your congregation and fully participate in the assembly schedule. It is our hope that each youth/young adult voting member attending the assembly would have an adult mentor someone who is also a voting member from your congregation and has previously attended an Assembly. This could be a rostered or lay leader. This adult's role is to support the youth during the event, answer questions, explain the business at hand, and offer encouragement for full participation. Make sure ALL of your congregation's voting members have copies of the schedule, reports and documents. If possible bring the congregation's voting members together before the Assembly to review the schedule, resolutions and documents which are posted at Set a date for your voting members to present a report to the congregation following the Assembly. Include your youth and young adult members! Youth who are 17 and younger are the legal responsibility of the congregation. Permission and medical forms and all other critical documents for responsible and safe participation are the responsibility of the congregation. Hotel housing is also the responsibility of the congregation. Sample forms, covenants, and guidelines for appropriate adult/youth interaction may be requested from the Office of the Bishop.